Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz has canceled plans to sell Anschutz Entertainment Group and remains committed to returning professional football to Los Angeles, he said Thursday.

AEG CEO and President Tim Leiweke also has left the company, Anschutz said. He refused to discuss the sudden departure of Leiweke, who was widely credited with overseeing major projects in Los Angeles that included Staples Center, L.A. LIVE and the Home Depot Center in Carson over the last 17 years.

In a rare interview, Anschutz said he plans to take a more active role in both AEG's day-to-day operations, and in moving forward the planned Farmers Field football stadium downtown.

Stepping up his cheerleading efforts, the normally reserved Anschutz challenged the National Football League to come to Los Angeles. The city approved plans for a football stadium in downtown last year.

No team has committed to return and the NFL has expressed unhappiness with AEG's financing plan for the stadium.

"It's time for the NFL to get serious and decide what they want to do," Anschutz said. "It doesn't do any good to sit on the sidelines all the time. Clearly a deal can get done. And by the way, this isn't a terribly complicated deal to get done. "

Thursday's announcement comes six months after Anschutz started seeking bidders for the Los Angeles-based AEG. The company's assets include the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, the Galaxy and other sports teams, arenas and ticketing facilities around the world.

Anschutz sought as much as $10 billion for AEG. Top candidates for bidding reportedly included Santa Monica-based Colony Capital and Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

On Thursday, Anschutz said that the term of the sale hadn't been met. He said the sale also had too much "noise" and too much public attention.

Steve Horowitz, partner at Inner Circle Sports in New York City, which had bid on AEG in the early stages of the sale, expressed surprise the deal was called off.

"You had real bidders at real numbers," said Horowitz.

But it was the departure of Leiweke, who has been with the company since 1996, that was more stunning. He renewed his contract in August, extending it for another five years. He also had a profit sharing interest in AEG, according to numerous sources.

Sources said there was strained relations between AEG and the NFL. One person familiar with the discussions said Leiweke, known for his blustery, aggressive style, irked some at the NFL by overstating the status of the football team deal to politicians and to team representatives.

He was also closely associated with the sale process, and met with all of the buyers. There was some speculation in L.A. that Leiweke hoped to retain a part of AEG after it was sold.

Marc Ganis, CEO of Chicago-based Sportscorp, said Anschutz is clearly seeking to show the public that he, not Leiweke, is charge.

"Anschutz is also reminding people, that oh, by the way, the 'A' in AEG stands for Anschutz, not Leiweke," Ganis said.

The NFL has previously rejected AEG's terms of the deal for bringing football back to L.A.

Longstanding issues concern AEG's stake in an NFL team, how much the developer is willing to pay for that stake, and who would control issues such as marketing and licensing at the football stadium.

"We continue to monitor all stadium developments and remain interested in multiple sites in the Los Angeles area," said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents parts of downtown, hopes the decision will bring more certainty to L.A.'s effort to bring back professional football.

"When (Anschutz) announced he wanted to sell the company, it seemed like it threw folks in a quandary," Perry said. "Now, let's see if it goes back in the other direction. I suspect it will. "

Last year, the city approved AEG's plans for a 60,000 seat football stadium and expanded Convention Center downtown. City officials and city planners devoted months to the project.

Echoing Anschutz's statement on Thursday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for the NFL to commit to Los Angeles.

"Now that AEG is no longer for sale and they have indicated that bringing an NFL team to LA remains a priority, I call on AEG to live up to its commitment by immediately sitting down with the NFL to reach an agreement," Villaraigosa said.